Trial set for Sunflower Fire defendant

Officials accuse Mesa man of starting Sunflower Fire

A Mesa man accused of starting a forest fire on May 12 by firing an incendiary shotgun round in the Tonto National Forest made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court on Friday and will face trial in September.

Steven Shiflet, 23, faces three counts: carelessly or negligently placing an ignited substance that may cause a fire; firing incendiary ammunition; and causing timber, trees, slash, brush, or grass to burn, all on National Forest System land. A conviction on each of the charges carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison, a $5,000 fine or both.

The Sunflower Fire burned 17,446 acres of grass, chaparral, piñon pine and dense Arizona cypress trees from May 12 to July 5 about 30 miles north of Mesa near the intersection of Forest Road 25 and Sycamore Creek, officials said.

According to the initial complaint, Shiflet was camping with four friends for his bachelor party when he fired what he called a "flame-throwing shotgun round" at a soda box during target shooting in the Sycamore Creek area.

When investigators collected guns used during the outing, they found a Remington Model 870 12-gauge shotgun and a Fiocchi 12-gauge shotgun shell in its original packaging. Investigators said Shiflet told them that the round was identical to the one he used on May 12. The packaging contained a warning that read: "Shoots 100 feet of fire, setting everything in its path ablaze. Warning: Extreme fire hazard."

Documents from the investigation leading up to Friday's hearing say Shiflet and his friends believed the incendiary shell likely caused the blaze.

After seeing the party's white SUV leave the scene of the fire on May 12, investigators tracked down the driver, Shiflet's friend Tyler Pace, who told investigators that after Shiflet fired the round, smoke appeared in the brush behind his target.

When investigators approached him, Pace stated, "I think we may have had something to do with that," according to the initial complaint.

Shiflet later told investigators that efforts to "stomp out" the blaze were unsuccessful, and he called 911 at 10:18 a.m. Dispatchers advised the men to leave the area.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence O. Anderson determined that Shiflet's case warranted neither a jury trial nor supervised release, and Shiflet was allowed to return to his home and work on the condition that he appear in court, notify the court of a change in phone number or address, and remain in the U.S. In allowing unsupervised release, Anderson noted Shiflet's "cooperation" and clean criminal record.

Shiflet, his wife and his parents all declined comment following the hearing.

Shiflet awaits trial on Sept. 11 and a pretrial hearing on Aug. 9, both at 9:30 a.m. in U.S. District Court.